（封面油畫 刁卿蕙繪）

甫完成詩人艾德娜·聖文森 ·米蕾（Edna St. Vincent Millay，1892-1950）的一百首譯詩，並編輯成書。

在此先分享這首二十歲的米蕾一出手即武林的登峰之作--Renascence ，214行的8音節對句(octosyllable couplet)，我以八個字一行押尾韻的對句移譯。

Renascence

再生

All I could see from where I stood

Was three long mountains and a wood;

我站立點放眼所及

三座長山一處林地；

I turned and looked another way,

And saw three islands in a bay.

轉身往另個方向看，

有三個小島在海灣。

So with my eyes I traced the line

Of the horizon, thin and fine,

我的眼循著地平線

的輪廓，稀薄又細纖，

Straight around till I was come

Back to where Id started from;

平直繞一圈直到轉

回了我開始的立點；

And all I saw from where I stood

Was three mountains and a wood.

從我立點望眼所及，

三座山和一處林地。

Over these things I could not see;

These were the things that bounded me;

在這之上我看不見

這些東西把我局限；

And I could touch them with my hand,

Almost I thought, from where I stand.

我手能把它們碰觸

幾乎我想，從我立處。

And all at once things seemed so small

My breath came short, and scarce at all.

霎時萬物變得渺小

我呼吸急促，且短少。

But, sure, the sky is big, I said;

Miles and miles above my head;

但，當然，天很大，我說；

在我頭上相當遼闊；

So here upon my back Ill lie

And look my fill into the sky.

在這裡我仰臥躺平

看著自己填進天空。

And so I looked, and, after all,

The sky was not so very tall.

我這樣看來，那，畢竟，

天空就不怎麼高聳。

The sky, I said, must somewhere stop,

And-- sure enough!--I see the top!

天空，我說，得哪兒停，

那—肯定！--我見到了頂！

The sky, I thought, is not so grand;

Imost could touch it with my hand!

天空，我想，並不偉大；

我手幾乎能碰到它！

And reaching up my hand to try,

I screamed to feel it touch the sky.

伸高我的手試試看，

我尖叫感覺碰到天。

I screamed, and –lo!--Infinity

Came down and settled over me;

我尖叫，瞧--看呀！--無窮

降下籠罩使我安靜；

Forced back my scream into my chest,

Bent back my arm upon my breast,

強壓尖叫回我胸腔，

彎回手臂到我胸膛，

And, pressing of the Undefined

The definition on my mind,

然後，摁下某種未明

定義進到我的腦中，

Held up before my eyes a glass

Through which my shrinking sight did pass

高舉眼前一塊鏡片

經由它通過我淺見

Until it seemed I must behold

Immensity made manifold;

直到似乎我須得見

各種繁衍廣袤無邊；

Whispered to me a word whose sound

Deafened the air for worlds around,

耳邊輕喃一字聲息

靜默八方世界空氣，

And brought unmuffled to my ears

The gossiping of friendly spheres,

傳至我耳朵未消音

友善星球小道新聞，

The creaking of the tented sky,

The ticking of Eternity.

穹蒼之幕嘰嘰嘎嘎

永恆無限滴滴答答。

I saw and heard, and knew at last

The How and Why of all things, past,

我見我聞，終於知悉

萬物何然何故，往昔

And present, and forevermore.

The universe, cleft to the core,

和現在，和永永遠遠。

宇宙，劈開至核中間，

Lay open to my probing sense

That, sickning, I would fain pluck thence

對我打開探索感觸

這，難受，我寧可拔除

But could not,--nay! But needs must suck

At the great wound, and could not pluck

但不能，--不！我得吸吮

那大傷口，不得脫困

My lips away till I had drawn

All venom out.--Ah, fearful pawn!

我移開唇直到吸出

全毒素。--喔，恐懼小卒！

For my omniscience paid I toll

In infinite remorse of soul.

我的全知付通行費

靈魂裡的無盡懊悔。

All sin was of my sinning, all

Atoning mine, and mine the gall

我犯的是所有罪，全

贖我罪，和我之厚顏

Of all regret. Mine was the weight

Of every brooded wrong, the hate

所有遺憾。我負的重

繁衍每種錯，這恨憎

That stood behind each envious thrust,

Mine every greed, mine every lust.

站在忌妒驅力後面，

我每種貪，我每種戀。

And all the while for every grief,

Each suffering, I craved relief

然始終對各式哀傷，

各個磨難，渴望解放

With individual desire,--

Craved all in vain! And felt fierce fire

以獨自個體之欲念，--

渴望皆空！感受烈焰

About a thousand people crawl;

Perished with each,--then mourned for all!

一千人在週圍爬行；

個個銷燬，-全體哀鳴！

A man was starving in Capri;

He moved his eyes and looked at me;

卡帕利挨餓的某男；

移動眼睛盯著我看；

I felt his gaze, I heard his moan,

And knew his hunger as my own.

感他凝視，聽他呻吟，

知他飢餓如同己身。

I saw at sea a great fog bank

Between two ships that struck and sank;

我見海上堤狀霧層

兩艘船在之間撞沉；

A thousand screams the heavens smote;

And every scream tore through my throat.

天堂重擊千聲尖吼

每一尖吼撕裂我喉。

No hurt I did not feel, no death

That was not mine; mine each last breath

痛我皆感，沒有死期

不屬我；我最後呼吸

That, crying, met an answering cry

From the compassion that was I.

如是，哭泣，以哭回應

來自我的慈悲同情。

All suffering mine, mine its rod;

Mine, pity like the pity of God.

痛皆有我，我即其鞭；

我的，悲憐似神悲憐。

Ah, awful weight! Infinity

Pressed down upon the finite Me!

喔，極大重量！無限

壓在有限的我上面！

My anguished spirit, like a bird,

Beating against my lips I heard;

我精神劇痛，像隻鳥

拍擊我雙唇我聽到；

Yet lay the weight so close about

There was no room for it without.

雖然重量壓那麼緊

那兒還有空間可進。

And so beneath the weight lay I

And suffered death, but could not die.

故重量之下我躺平

受死折磨，求死不能。

Long had I lain thus, craving death,

When quietly the earth beneath

躺下許久，渴望死亡，

當靜悄悄土地下方

Gave way, and inch by inch, so great

At last had grown the crushing weight,

挪位，一寸寸，甚強大

終於重量成長壓垮，

Into the earth I sank till I

Full six feet under ground did lie,

沉進土裡直到自己

六呎之軀躺在地底，

And sank no more,--there is no weight

Can follow here, however great.

不再下沉，--沒有重量

能跟來這，不論多強。

From off my breast I felt it roll,

And as it went my tortured soul

胸外我感覺它在滾，

它一動我受苦靈魂

Burst forth and fled in such a gust

That all about me swirled the dust.

爆向前如疾風逃脫

周身俱是煙塵漩渦。

Deep in the earth I rested now;

Cool is its hand upon the brow

土地深處我現靜休；

額頭上是它的涼手

And soft its breast beneath the head

Of one who is so gladly dead.

頭下是它柔軟胸膛

我是如此喜悅死亡。

And all at once, and over all

The pitying rain began to fall;

在一瞬間，遍佈各處

開始落下悲憐雨珠；

I lay and heard each pattering hoof

upon my lowly, thatched roof,

我躺著聽啪嗒蹄聲

在我低矮，茅草屋頂，

And seemed to love the sound far more

Than ever I had done before.

似乎愛那聲音更多

遠超過我曾那樣做。

For rain it hath a friendly sound

To one whos six feet underground;

因為雨珠聲音友善

對地下六呎者而言；

And scarce the friendly voice or face;

A grave is such a quiet place.

缺少友善聲音臉龐；

墳墓真是安靜地方。

The rain, I said, is kind to come

And speak to me in my new home.

雨珠，我說，承蒙惠顧

跟我講話在我新屋。

I would I were alive again

To kiss the fingers of the rain,

但願我能再次活過

去親吻雨的手指頭，

To drink into my eyes the shine

Of every slanting silver line,

我眼眸飲進亮閃閃

的每條傾斜銀色線，

To catch the freshened, fragrant breeze

From drenched and dripping apple-trees.

抓住清新，香氣微風

從濕答答蘋果樹叢。

For soon the shower will be done,

And then the broad face of the sun

不久陣雨就會停工，

然後寬臉太陽公公

Will laugh above the rain-soaked earth

Until the world with answering mirth

會在浸雨土地上笑

直到世界回以歡笑

Shakes joyously, and each round drop

Rolls, twinkling, from its grass-blade top.

高興抖動，顆顆珠圓

滾動，閃爍，在草葉尖。

How can I bear it; buried here,

While overhead the sky grows clear

我怎忍受；埋這地方，

當上頭的天變清朗

And blue again after the storm?

O, multi-colored, multiform,

暴風雨後又轉蔚藍?

喔，多色階，多種外觀，

Beloved beauty over me

That I shall never, never see

心愛的美在我上面

我將永不，永不再見

Again! Spring-silver, autumn-gold,

That I shall never more behold!

再次！春銀閃，秋金耀，

而我卻再也看不到！

Sleeping your myriad magics through,

Close-sepulchred away from you!

你無數的異想沉寂，

緊閉石棺遠離了你！

O God, I cried, give me new birth,

And put me back upon the earth!

神啊，我喊，給我新生，

把我放回土地上層！

Upset each clouds gigantic gourd

And let the heavy rain, down-poured

倒掉雲朵的巨葫蘆

就讓大雨，傾盆瀉出

In one big torrent, set me free,

Washing my grave away from me!

豪雨奔流，放我自由，

將墳塚從我這洗走！

I ceased; and through the breathless hush

That answered me, the far-off rush

我停止；經屏息肅靜，

回應了我，遠處匆匆

Of herald wings came whispering

Like music down the vibrant string

先鋒羽翼私語竊竊

似音樂自顫弦流瀉

Of my ascending prayer, and –crash!

Before the wild winds whistling lash

我升高祈禱，但—墜毀！

之前狂風呼嘯猛揮

The startled storm-clouds reared on high

And plunged in terror down the sky,

驚愕暴雲從後高仰

並自天空駭然衝降，

And the big rain in one black wave

Fell from the sky and struck my grave.

豪雨以一道黑波浪

從天而下擊我墳上。

I know not how such things can be;

I only know there came to me

我不知怎有這樣事；

我只知從那時開始

A fragrance such as never clings

To aught save happy living things;

某香氣如未曾依附

其它除了快樂活物；

A sound as of some joyous elf

Singing sweet songs to please himself,

聲音像某愉快小妖

唱著甜歌自我逍遙，

And, through and over everything,

A sense of glad awakening.

然而，經歷了這一切，

一種愉悅感官醒覺。

The grass, a-tiptoe at my ear,

Whispering to me I could hear;

青草，踮腳附我耳畔，

我能聽見低語喃喃；

I felt the rains cool finger-tip

Brushed tenderly across my lips,

我感受雨的涼指尖

溫柔地拂過我唇瓣，

Laid gently on my sealed sight,

And all at once the heavy night

輕覆我封住的眼目，

霎時那厚重的夜幕

Fell from my eyes and I could see,--

A drenched and dripping apple-tree,

從我眼落下我張目，--

一棵濕答答蘋果樹，

A last long line of silver rain,

A sky grown clear and blue again.

最後一根銀雨長線，

天空又變得清又藍。

And as I looked a quickening gust

Of wind blew up to me and thrust

當我觀看一陣迅疾

的風吹向我並刺擊

into my face a miracle

Of orchard-breath, and with the smell,--

進我臉龐一個奇跡

帶果園呼吸，隨此息，--

I know not how such things can be!--

I breathed my soul back into me.

我不知這事何以然！--

我吸我靈回我裡面。

Ah! Up then from the ground sprang I

And hailed the earth with such a cry

啊！那刻我從地躍起

對地歡呼一聲致意

As is not heard save from a man

Who has been dead, and lives again.

未曾聽聞除了一人

死亡之後，再生復臨。

About the trees my arms I wound;

Like one gone mad I hugged the ground;

環著樹木我彎我臂；

像個瘋子我擁抱地；

I raised my quivering arms on high;

I laughed and laughed into the sky,

我高舉顫抖的雙臂；

我笑了且笑入天際，

Till at my throat a strangling sob

Caught fiercely, and a great heart-throb

直到我喉窒息嗚咽

猛然扣住，心悸強烈

Sent instant tears into my eyes;

O God, I cried, no dark disguise

立刻送淚進我眼框；

神啊，我喊，莫再偽裝

Can e‘er hereafter hide from me

Try radiant identity!

從今爾後請別避隱

試著對我光明現身！

Thou canst not move across the grass

But my quick eyes will see Thee pass,

袮不能越過這草地

但我慧眼察袮靜息，

Nor speak, however silently,

But my hushed voice will answer Thee.

無言，不論如何沉寂，

我會以噤聲回應袮。

I know the path that tells Thy way

Through the cool eve of every day;

我知此徑洩袮習慣

經由每日涼爽夜晚；

God, I can push the grass apart

And lay my finger on Thy heart!

神，我能把草推一旁

把我手指放袮心上！

The world stands out on either side

No wider than the heart is wide;

這世界突顯任一邊

都不比這顆心更寬；

Above the world is stretched the sky,--

No higher than the soul is high.

世界之上天空延伸，--

不會高過這個靈魂。

The heart can push the sea and land

Farther away on either hand;

心能推開海洋田園

較哪邊的手都更遠；

The soul can split the sky in two,

And let the face of God shine through.

靈魂能將天劈兩半，

讓神的臉從中閃現。

But East and West will pinch the heart

That can not keep them pushed apart;

但東西方會掐心房

那不防他們被擴張；

And he whose soul is flat—the sky

Will cave in on him by and by.

凡靈魂扁平者—天

漸漸地會對他塌陷。